Category: Photography

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Gold-stained Satyr

Another new butterfly for me – a lifer? 🙂 This one was on my phone camera dated the day after returning from Arenal Observatory and I don’t remember where! It was on a concrete wall which could be a lot of places!   🙂

Though it has been reported in southern Texas, most websites show it in Mexico & Central America with a few in northern South America, particularly Ecuador. An interesting butterfly with a positive identification from websites and my best butterfly book, A Swift Guide to Butterflies of Mexico & Central America, Second Edition.

And  just like with birds it is always fun to add a new species to my collection. My photo gallery of Costa Rica Butterflies & Moths is I think the best one on the web now. Check it out!

 

Butterflies are God’s confetti, thrown upon the Earth in celebration of His love .    

~K. D’Angelo

¡Pura Vida!

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Waterfall & Tower Hikes

Today I had a morning hike to the Danta Waterfall and afternoon hike to the Observatory Tower they call “The Nest.” Both were good, see photos below. And though still rainy today (I had to leave tower before most toucans arrived), there was almost a sunset tonight or the nearest we’ve had this rainy week and of course what little I got was mostly behind the clouds.   🙂

Waterfall Hike

 

Tower Shots

 

An Almost Sunset

 

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

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Bogarin Trail

It did rain this afternoon, just a light shower, but enough to keep me from climbing the tower in the rain – so I processed the Bogarin Birds! If you are ever in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, I recommend the place as a good for many, many birds! Saw 40 species! 21 here in photos.

It is a protected reserve right in town – a town I don’t care for but love their Bogarin Trail! La Fortuna is too touristy for me like Manual Antonio and Jaco, packed with competing hotels, restaurants and T-shirt shops!   🙂  Check out the trail website at:   Bogarin Trail  (or their Facebook Page).

My “lifer” or first time bird today is in the featured photo above, White-throated Crake. The name link is to the article on Cornell Neotropical Birds.

Bogarin Trail Birds

Click an Image to Enlarge.

 

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

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Unclouded Volcano

Today was the first time we’ve had enough sunshine for the Arenal Volcano to be totally visible or almost! A beautiful day and my guide Nestor, whom I also had a year and a half ago when here before, took me to Bogarin Trail  (or their Facebook Page)  where we saw about 40 species of birds and I got usable photos of about 21. If it doesn’t rain, I’m going back up on the tower this afternoon, meaning I won’t have time to post my Bogarin Bird Bonanza, including my second lifer this week, a White-throated Crake. Another good day! And the blog posts pile up!   🙂

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

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More Volcano Birds

The morning was dry with my first view of an unclouded volcano (above) since I’ve been here! And from my room at that!   🙂   And no rain for a before-breakfast guided walk nor the after-breakfast solo trip to the tower for the honeycreepers!   🙂  Two birding hikes today and the one from yesterday together gives this colorful collection with one new “lifer” bird, the Rufous-winged Tanager! And I worked on the photos after the rain started about 1:15 pm.

More Arenal Birds

CLICK an image to enlarge or pass cursor over for name.

Click for manual slide show – best way to see the photos!

 

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

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First Morning’s Birds

Even with lots of rain all day today, I got these birds before and after breakfast and it doesn’t count some different birds on an afternoon bird walk that was nearly rained out. Rain or shine, there are always a lot of birds at Arenal Observatory! Click image to enlarge and pass cursor over image for name of bird.

Birds First Morning

 

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

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Rain in Paradise

I think I forgot that they are on the Caribbean Slope – east of continental divide  (their rivers flow into the Atlantic) meaning November is maybe the rainiest month!   🙂   As soon as the plane got out of Central Valley over the mountains it was raining and hasn’t stopped since. But I love the rainy season in general and have had some great experiences in the rain, like at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, so I scheduled all my birding hikes and will do the best I can even if under an umbrella!   🙂   Funny thing is I tried to book this trip for Christmas week and they were already full nearly a year ago. I’m thinking about booking for Christmas 2121.   🙂

The best photos in this post (I think) are the “Plane Shots.” Enjoy and expect some wet reports this week!

Plane Shots

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Corner Room

Click image to enlarge.

 

Two Birds

Click image to enlarge.

 

¡Pura Vida!

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Bienvenidos!

Welcome! is the translation for you English-only-speakers and one of the new Tico residents of Roca Verde decided that since he lives in the first house inside Roca Verde main gate he would contribute to the neighborhood with this nice welcome sign at 101 Roca Verde just across a little valley from my house at 105 (and he too overlooks the cow pasture). I can’t remember, but don’t think I have shown his welcome sign on the blog yet.

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Also inside the main gate (before his sign and at edge of the cow pasture) is the above lovely shaped tree that just lost its leaves and is renewing them now in our sort of a Spring. Walking to town this morning I walked by the tree that I have always liked the shape of and decided on a cell phone photo – above. Then I saw a Lineated Woodpecker in it that soon flew to two of the other trees as I tried to make a photo (below), but I need my big camera for birds! No good photo, but you can see what else is welcoming you inside the Roca Verde gate.    🙂    Bienvenidos!

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Lineated Woodpecker, Roca Verde Entrance
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Lineated Woodpecker, Roca Verde Entrance

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”
— Kahlil Gibran

Better photos tomorrow from Arenal Observatory!

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Oh, the Places I’ll Go!

Monday I’m off to Arenal Observatory Lodge in Arenal Volcano National Park with my choice room reserved again – #27 – where my deck looks up at the volcano and out past the bird feeders to Lake Arenal over which the suns sets each evening in brilliant colors!

I was there a year and a half ago and you can see why I like it in my trip photo gallery: 2018-May 4-9 – Arenal Observatory Lodge.  It is truly one of my favorite places and I’m beginning to return to such more often now, where there are more birds than I will every photograph! (An “official” birding hot spot.) Plus waterfalls, trails, horses, a farm, beautiful scenery, good food, and a comfortable room with more places nearby to visit. And I will probably relax more this time without the rush of trying to see and do everything the first time!   ¡Tranquilo!

“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

¡Pura Vida!